The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 changed the way we deal with civil contingencies and emergencies. Read the short guide to Civil Contingencies Act 2004 (PDF)
The Act created Local Resilience Forums (LRFs), based on the geographical area of the policing area. Wirral is an active member of the Merseyside Resilience Forum (MRF), along with Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton and St. Helens.
The above local authorities work closely with the emergency services (Police, Fire and Ambulance Service), and other emergency responders e.g. Coastguard and Environment Agency. These are known collectively as Category 1 responders.
Those in Category 1 have duties placed upon them to:
- assess local risks and use this to inform emergency planning
- put in place emergency plans
- put in place Business Continuity Management arrangements
- put in place arrangements to make information available to the public about civil protection matters and maintain arrangements to warn, inform and advise the public in the event of an emergency
- share information with other local responders to enhance co-ordination
- co-operate with other local responders to enhance co-ordination and efficiency
- provide advice and assistance to businesses and voluntary organisations about business continuity management (local authorities only)
Category 2 organisations will be placed under the lesser duties of co-operating with these organisations and sharing relevant information. Those to be included at present are e.g. Power and utilities, transport and ports.